Customer Reviews

The Confessions Tour - Live from London (CD+DVD)

5 star:		(209)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Despite all the haters out there this was one of the best Madonna tours ever. Madonna described the tour as "turning the world into a giant dance floor". The show is divided into four separate acts with different themes: Equestrian, Urban Bedouin, Glam Punk and Disco Fever. Madonna's Confessions Tour was a concert tour organized to support the album Confessions on a Dance Floor and set the record for the top-grossing tour ever by a female artist. The tour grossed more than $194.8 million with a total of 60 shows and 1.2 million people in paid attendance through North America, Europe, and Japan. Despite the U.S. lack of good taste in music and by refusing to give her radio play for her Confessions CD, she still managed to gross more than $80 million for the U.S. shows alone throughout the summer. In The U.S. her confessions tour instantly became the highest grossing summer tour of the year 2006. The tour has generated international controversy due to its use of Christian religious symbols. While singing "Live to Tell", Madonna hangs from a mirrored cross wearing a crown of thorns around her head. Christian, Jewish and Muslim groups in North America and Europe came together to criticize what they saw as Madonna's exploitation of "sacred" Christian symbols and labeled the show as blasphemous even though they never saw the show. Madonna brought more than just the Devil out in some of these Christians and other religious groups. A 63-year-old Dutch priest was even arrested when he decided to make a confession of his own when he confessed to making a hoax bomb threat in an attempt to stop her concert. In response to the criticism, Madonna personally and publicly invited Pope Benedict XVI to see the show while she was in Rome - insisting that she was doing the controversial act to raise awareness and money for orphans abandoned in Africa (particularly Malawi) due to HIV/AIDS and that "Jesus wouldn't mind." (While she sings "Live To Tell," in the background run haunting images of the devastation in Africa right now. On the top of the screen, a count begins from 0 until it reaches 12 million - the number of orphans created by HIV/AIDS in Africa alone. The tour features songs mainly from her Confessions on a Dance Floor CD which is considered Madonna's comeback album from her previous lowest selling effort American Life. Confessions on a Dance Floor's sales are near 10 million worldwide. It also holds the record for topping the most charts in the world. The single "Hung Up" also holds the record for topping the most charts in the world. With Confessions on a Dance Floor Madonna refused to follow any U.S. chart trends. She decided to release a collection of dance/electronic songs, which did not receive significant airplay in the U.S. but received massive airplay on all other parts of the world, including Europe and Asia. Nevertheless, despite lack of U.S. radio support (boycott because she spoke out against the war and that idiot president bush) all of the singles had a great performance on iTunes and on MTV's TRL Video Music Countdown. Madonna kept her goals of doing what she wanted and establishing trends instead of following them. Even lack of support in her home country didn't stop the album from selling over 1,600,000 units in the U.S. alone. This is one amazing show and one of her best tours. Madonna is still The Most Successful Female Recording Artist in the history of the world and this DVD proves she is far from singing her last song.


Below is the Set List

Equestrian Act

1. "Future Lovers/I Feel Love"
2. "Get Together"
3. "Like A Virgin"
4. "Jump"

Urban Bedouin Act

5. "Interlude: Dancers' Confessions"
6. "Live to Tell"
7. "Forbidden Love"
8. "Isaac"
9. "Sorry"
10. "Like It Or Not"

Glam Punk Act

11. "Interlude: Sorry (Remix)"
12. "I Love New York"
13. "Ray of Light"
14. "Let It Will Be"
15. "Give Peace a Chance" (performed only in Moscow)
16. "Drowned World/Substitute For Love"
17. "Paradise (Not For Me)"

Disco Fever Act

18. "Interlude: Roller Dance: Disco Inferno"
19. "Music" (With Where's The Party mid-section)
20. "Erotica"
21. "La Isla Bonita"
22. "Lucky Star"
23. "Hung Up"


Madonna will also be releasing a live cd to go along with this Confessions Tour DVD. Below is the CD track listing:

1. Future Lovers / I Feel Love
2. Like A Virgin
3. Jump
4. Confessions
5. Isaac
6. Sorry
7. Sorry (Remix)
8. I Love New York
9. Let It Will Be
10. Music Inferno
11. Erotica
12. Lucky Star
13. Hung Up

Because I only have 'Drowned World Tour' on DVD and nothing else (concert-wise), I wanted to have `TCT' to see for myself, what it was all about. My best friend attended the Montreal show and loved it. I never attended a Madonna concert and am very happy to own this item. Won't go into great detail regarding what should've been on it and what not. What I will say is that Madonna looks and sounds just as good as she did back in the beginning. She moves far better than anyone half her age, and her voice is fresh and vibrant as ever. I always admired Madonna for her "bad girl" image, but have a whole new appreciation for her since buying the "I'm Going to tell you a secret" and `TCT' CD & DVDs. Only negative comment I have is this: Perhaps yes, the CD should've had more material on it? Perhaps an unreleased bonus track or two?

Madonna's personality on and offstage is remarkable and her costumes this time around are fab and the dancers and choreography are incredible. This truly is a 'Show' and not a concert. I did want to mention something: The voice in the intro of "Sorry" does sound a lot like Neil Tennant from `Pet Shop Boys', yet he's not credited anywhere in the booklet. As for the DTS 5.1 sound, I don't care, as long as I can see/hear the show, since I watch all my concert DVDs from my computer anyway. Picture/Sound quality is great. Having the DVD is all that should really matter, no? At least we got something at all, considering there wasn't an official release of `Reinvention Tour' on DVD.

Let me talk about the packaging. DVD and CD are housed inside a matte double digipack with attached booklet. The booklet (19 pages) feature lots of footage from the show, song & concert production credits and other stuff. Inner right flap features silhouette of a horse on a creamy pinkish-white background. Meanwhile, the DVD is black with the silhouette of a running horse in white. The CD features Madonna's white silhouette on a black background. The backside of the digipack features DVD tracks first, then CD tracks, bonus material and information pertaining to the product & formatting.

Other Info:
- Picture Format: 16X9
- Multiple Viewing Angles: 1
- Color Mode: Color
- Region Code: 1
- Disc Format: DVD-9
- Duration: 121 Min, Plus Bonus Material
- Language And Audio Content: English, PCM Stereo & DTS 5.1
- Subtitles: None

DVD Tracklisting:
01- Future Lovers / I Feel Love
02- Get Together
03- Like a Virgin
04- Jump
05- Confessions
06- Live To Tell
07- Forbidden Love
08- Isaac
09- Sorry
10- Like it or Not
11- Sorry (Remix)
12- I Love New York
13- Ray of Light
14- Let it Will Be
15- Drowned World / Substitute For Love
16- Paradise (Not For Me)
17- Music Inferno
18- Erotica
19- La Isla Bonita
20- Lucky Star
21- Hung Up
Plus Bonus Behind-The-Scenes Footage and Photo Gallery

CD Tracklisting:
01- Future Lovers / I Feel Love
02- Like a Virgin
03- Jump
04- Confessions
05- Isaac
06- Sorry
07- Sorry (Remix)
08- I Love New York
09- Let It Will Be
10- Music Inferno
11- Erotica
12- Lucky Star
13- Hung Up

This album makes me so happy! Why on earth did it take Madonna so long to start releasing live albums?! "I'm Going to Tell You a Secret" came out a couple of years ago, and it was absolutely fabulous. I'm guessing that's why "The Confessions Tour" was released, and I am so glad that it was! The CD features 13 songs from the "Confessions" tour that were recorded during a performance in London. The quality of this album is fantastic! Every time I listen to it, I feel like I'm in the audience watching Madonna performing. Yes, these tracks are mostly all songs from the "Confessions on a Dance Floor" CD, but they're live and remixed and different and wonderful! In addition to new favorites like "Hung Up," "Jump," "Future Lovers," and "I Love New York," the album also includes some classic old-school Madonna songs, such as "Lucky Star," "Erotica," and "Like a Virgin."

Picking a favorite track on this CD is almost impossible, but I think I have to go with "Music Inferno." It's such a fun new take on a fabulous Madonna song, and it was also one of my favorite parts of the "Confessions" tour. (Those white John Travolta suits were fantastic!)

I really wish the song "Get Together" was on the CD, but at least it's on the DVD. And speaking of the DVD...WOW! It's absolutely fantastic. The DVD features many more songs than the CD and also includes several behind-the-scenes bonus features.

"The Confessions Tour" is a dazzling musical experience that's a must-have for all Madonna fans!

I've seen Madonna's concerts over the past 20-plus years, and this woman can still dazzle the audience with her elaborate production numbers while making it look better than she did when she was in her 20's. Unlike most singers of today, Madonna has a greater challenge because her music isn't timeless. When listening to a lot of her 80's albums, some of the music sounds dated. And it would still sound dated if she hadn't put a new spin on them. The fabulous "older" songs such as "La Isla Bonita," "Erotic" and even 2000's "Music" sounded incredibly fresh because the original backing tracks were replaced with a techno backdrop of music that was alive for 2006. The two most outstanding and profoundly touching performances were "Live To Tell" and "Forbidden Love." Madonna presented the images of twelve million children in Africa that have been orphaned due to AIDS. The way she incorporated religion as well as same sex partners during "Forbidden Love" really touched my heart. Madonna had me in the palm of her hand as I found myself transfixed to the visuals, as well as her own divine way of taking over a stage and a venue of thousands of fans. The use of the '76 Trammps staple "Disco Inferno" was brilliantly executed to introduce the last act of "disco/dance" songs that she performed. As usual, Madonna is always one step ahead. What's even more amazing about her performance is the fact that she was in terrible pain throughout the entire tour because her collarbone had not completely healed from her horse riding accident last year. She refused to cut her dance numbers and went out there like a trouper.

For those of you who watched this concert when it aired on network television, you were denied Madonna's "controversial" segment when she hung on the mirrored Cross while singing "Like A Prayer," as well as several other songs that round out this two hour concert. If this country can tolerate an unnecessary war in Iraq but needs to shield their eyes to a woman performing her art onstage, then we're a lot worse off than we even imagined. Unfortunately, this isn't anything new or earth shattering. It's just a sad statement on the climate of this country. But controversy (as mild as this was) is Madonna's friend and has always been consistent in her career. Happily, other songs that were edited down and abbreviated for television have been restored to their full glory on this DVD.

After watching Madonna's latest live concert special, one word came to my mind - brilliant!

I feel confident that this latest concert event, which aired on NBC last November, will be nominated for an Emmy. Whether she wins or not depends on the competition. Well done, Madonna.

The Confessions Tour is by far Madonna's greatest live work. The reason I say this is because every show up to now has kept building on her former experiences live. In other words, her material has advanced, technology has advanced, and her ideas have advanced. This tour is the culmination of all the things she has tried thusfar, wrapped up in one package, then thrown into the blender and presented here as a firece, energetic, flawless show. I saw this show 6 times in different cities and all from different vantage points. One of the things that is great about this DVD is the variation of shots, so you get the idea of what it was like to be anywhere in the arena! Unfortunately the editing of this DVD is a little to quick for my taste, I am a fanatic so I really want to SEE Madonna performing, while there is plenty of it available on this DVD I I feel it switches shots so fast in several parts, particularly in the beginning segment. The setlist is amazing, personally Confessions On A Dancefloor is the exact type of album I have been waiting for from M for several years, so since the setlist includes virtually every song from that album, I might be a little biased. However the production of the show is really what takes the cake, the programming, thed dancing, the visuals, the costumes, and the setlist all come together to throw a major dance party in the arena. The only other thing I noticed however is that they REALLY mastered Madonna's voice so it is nearly album-like even though it is live, but this may make it MUCH more enjoyable for the casual fan who might be expecting to hear somewhat flawless representation of album tracks.


BEST OF ALL? YOU GET A BONUS CD!!!
This is so worth having since it has the new version of Like A Virgin and Music, and also has the previously unreleased song Erotica/You Thrill me which is where the song Erotica as we know it today came from.

My Personal Highlights:
Future Lovers
Come Together
Like A Virgin
Live To Tell
Music
Like It Or Not
Music
Erotica
Hung Up

Overall Rating: 5 Stars
Setlist: 5 Stars
Sound Quality: 4 Stars
Editing: 4 Stars
Extras: 3 Stars, not very much extra, the segments are short. Even the photo slide show is short. not too impressive

I saw her in concert live and this DVD is excellent, so much better than the edited version on TV! As usual she gives you a Spectacular SHOW that you cant take your eyes off! not just a concert, highly recommend to ALL, a must for Madonna fans!

I am an off and on fan of Madonna, I have my momments, depending on what she thinks of next etc. In my opinion this has been her best concert yet coming in after the Blonde Ambition Tour. The staging, energy and dancing makes this concert fun and interesting to watch. No one star at Madonna's age can go on stage and give such a high energy performance as she does. She rules the music industry in concerts and entertaining her fans. I admit though, Girlie Show and Drowned World Tour were not great, but makes a huge comeback with 'Confession on a Dancefloor', she lives up to her promise, Dance til you drop!

This is a superb concert - simple as that. The DVD loses a point for having 4x3 menus though!! it is SOOOOOOO annoying and very VERY strange! My TV is set up to auto-zoom 4x3 material to fill the (16x9) screen - this works great for me except on this disc the buttons on the main menu disappear off the bottom of the screen! I have to change the aspect ratio every time i go to the menu. Never in my life have I heard of a widescreen DVD having 4x3 menus! But, aside from this annoyance, this is a truly excellent DVD/CD combo. Fantastic value for money too. Buy it - you won't regret it!

This is a fantastic concert and I have watched it too many times to count. This is Madonna's best concert yet. The music is great and makes you want to get up and dance and watching the concert is like "eye candy". We have showed this concert to many people and they have all throughly enjoyed it.

Trust me, you will love this concert. You won't be disappointed!

I totally agree with many of my fellow reviewers, the NBC special was terrible! How could anyone appreciate and enjoy this concert with all those commercials and that awful editing! I was lucky to see this concert, as I have seen most of Madonna's live shows, they are all unique. Every concert has a theme and she manages to create a show built around her and the audience. She is mesmerizing! Can't wait to hit the gym with my new "Confessions CD"! If you want to see how a concert should be done, grab this! She is worth every penny!